North Star with Ellin Bessner

Brian Mulroney didn’t meet a Jew until he left his home in Quebec to go to boarding school. Yet despite this, the Canadian prime minister, who died on Feb. 29, made fighting antisemitism and supporting Jews—and Israel—priorities during his lengthy political career. Mulroney, 84, died after a fall in the bathroom of his home in Palm Beach, Florida, friends say. He had recently been treated for prostate cancer. Mulroney served as prime minister for nine years, from 1984 to 1993. He resigned due to growing separatist sentiments in Quebec, a recession and record-low popular support. However, Jewish leaders and experts say Mulroney’s support for Jews in and out of office was remarkable. His dedication included hiring a succession of Jewish political advisors to be his chiefs of staff; appointing Norman Spector as the first Jewish ambassador to represent Canada in Israel; establishing a public inquiry to investigate how Nazi war criminals were allowed into Canada after the Holocaust; and welcoming Chaim Herzog, then the president of Israel, as the first leader of the Jewish State to address Parliament, in 1989. On today’s edition of The CJN Daily, we explore why Canada’s 18th prime minister felt moved to fight what he called “a noxious social cancer” of antisemitism, even to his last days. We hear from philanthropist Charles Bronfman; Irwin Cotler, the former special envoy on combatting antisemitism; political panelist for _The CJN Daily _Stephen Adler; and Don Abelson, the founding director of the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government in Nova Scotia. What we talked about: Read professors Don Abelson and Monda Halpern’s scholarly paper about Brian Mulroney and the Jews, “On the Right Side of History” Read Ron Csillag’s article about Brian Mulroney’s legacy, in The CJN Watch Mulroney’s last public speech, to the World Jewish Congress in New York, from Nov. 2023 Why criticism of Israel is not necessarily antisemitism, Mulroney said: in The CJN archives Credits: The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

On Feb. 26, Canada signalled it is done waiting for internet giants and social media companies to protect children from consuming or being victims of harmful online content. Justice minister Arif Virani introduced Bill C-63, which sets up a new Digital Safety Commission to handle these cases and impose multimillion-dollar fines on social media sites for not complying. For the Jewish community, the new law would also toughen penalties for those who incite hatred, including antisemitism, and promote genocide or Holocaust denial. It’s a long-awaited piece of legislation for Jewish advocacy groups like CIJA, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal and B’nai Brith: all have been warning about the dangerous explosion of online hate, saying that it could lead to actual terrorism, especially after Oct. 7. But some critics, including the federal Conservatives, fear the new law may go too far in curbing free speech, and have hinted they will vote against it as the proposed law now makes its way through Parliament. On today’s The CJN Daily, we speak with Bernie Farber, who was one of the consultants hired by the government to shape the new legislation, and with professor Michael Geist, an internet law expert from the University of Ottawa, who sees some red flags. What we talked about: Read more about the Ottawa teenager charged in December with a terror-related bomb making plot against Canadian Jews, in The CJN Read how Canadian Jewish leaders reacted to the Canadian government’s new Online Harms Bill, in The CJN See the actual Online Harms Act for yourself on the Government of Canada’s website and read the accompanying explanation Credits: The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

Last Thursday, Feb. 22, the school of business at McGill University in Montreal had to quickly cancel its in-person classes and switch to online learning, because anti-Israel protesters blocked access to the department’s Bronfman building, off Sherbrooke St. W. The protest was called by a campus Palestinian club and was the latest incident in an escalation of what the authors of a new study have found was an alarming rise of antisemitism on Canadian university campuses, especially after Oct. 7. Researchers at the Abraham Global Peace Initiative (AGPI) released their 2023 campus antisemitism report on Feb. 16. It documents the “intimidation, harassment, and regrettably, violent behaviour against Jewish students” and also the “blatant targeting of Jewish students”, and calls into question the effectiveness of the institutions’ embrace of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. They also gave letter marks for each of the universities: York, University of Toronto and Concordia got the lowest grades of F, while five schools weren’t much safer: University of Victoria, Queen’s, Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson), UBC and Lethbridge–they all scored Ds and D-. Dr. Neil Orlowsky is Director of Education for the AGPI, and he joins to review the findings, and why he feels parents should consider the report before advising their teens where to attend university this fall. What we talked about: Read how a blockade impacted classes at the McGill University Bronfman building last Thursday, in The CJN. Read the AGPI’s 2024 report on campus antisemitism, and hear The CJN’s coverage of the AGPI’s first report in 2022 on the best and worst schools for Canadian Jews, on The CJN Daily. Excellent campus safety resources page for Jewish students in Montreal, by Federation CJA. Credits: The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

Gary Grill and Leora Shemesh want an apology from the owners of the Toronto Raptors basketball team, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. On Feb. 22, security at Scotiabank Arena asked Grill to remove his black-and-white “Free Our Hostages” sweatshirt while the two were watching the Raptors play the Brooklyn Nets at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The reason given? Because it was “political”. On principle, Grill chose to leave, rather than remove his hoodie–a gift from Shemesh. Now the friends, who are both criminal defence lawyers, are calling the act discrimination—even though MLSE’s website clearly prohibits fans having “signs, symbols or images for commercial or political purposes”. Despite the longstanding ban, which is common among sports arenas and not unique to Toronto, Grill and Shemesh say they could take legal action. Did they know about the rule but choose to ignore it? Was this a stunt to provoke attention to the plight of the 140 hostages still held in captivity by Hamas? Or was it a genuinely unexpected brush with an overzealous security officer? Grill and Shemesh join _The CJN Daily _to explain what happened, why they went public afterword, and whether this is good for the Jews. Related links Read MLSE's code of conduct Why Phoebe Maltz Bovy was triggered by Kiana Ledé wearing a Keffiyeh to sing the U.S. national anthem at the NHL All-Star game, in The CJN Why the Toronto Raptors never went on their promised trip to Israel after winning the NBA championship in 2019, in The CJN Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

On Jan. 30, a striking piece of pop-up theatre was staged near Vancouver’s art gallery. A man dressed as a Hamas militant marched a woman in a white top and grey sweatpants down the street—her hands tied together, her crotch blood-stained (with dye, not real blood). Behind them was a placard: “This is what free Palestine looks like.” It was a re-enactment of one of the most infamous videos shot on Oct. 7, in which Hamas terrorists kidnapped an Israeli teenager and stuffed her into a black jeep. The video fuelled widespread speculation that the young woman had been sexually abused by Hamas terrorists. The Vancouver protest was the initiative of Nonviolent Opposition Against Hate (NOAH), a fledgling organization created by two Israeli expats that aims to counteract the louder anti-Israel voices in British Columbia’s largest cities. Those organizers are not alone—other groups have staged similar protests, including one organization called Canadians for Israel, in Toronto, which on Feb. 14 held a street side re-enactment of the same Hamas incident. While the Toronto's event's stated goal is to call attention to the female hostages still believed to be in captivity in Gaza, and pressure the federal government to do more to demand the hostages' immediate release, the group on the West Coast aims to warn Canadians that Hamas's message represents real danger for all Jews around the world. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, NOAH co-founder Asaf Arad explains why he personally dressed up like a Hamas terrorist and marched in Vancouver to make the powerful statement. What we talked about: Learn more about the NOAH initiative via their Instagram account, and watch their street demonstration video on YouTube. They are now fundraising through Gofundme, at this link Follow the Toronto activist group Canadians for Israel, on Facebook. Read about them in The CJN Read more about the Enough_T.O. sticker initiative, just launched to bring back civility and dialogue in Canada’s largest city Credits: The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

Insp. Paul Rinkoff was known to Jewish leaders in Toronto before Oct. 7, 2023 for his diplomatic, low-key approach to establishing good relationships between the Toronto police and the Jewish community. But since the Hamas attack on Israel last Thanksgiving, Rinkoff has been thrust into the very public spotlight–as the highest profile Jewish officer in charge of the police force’s community partnerships and engagement unit. While Rinkoff also oversees police outreach to Toronto’s other ethnic and racialized groups, including Palestinians and Muslims, what’s happened since Oct. 7 is obviously deeply personal- he’s also co-chair of the Jewish consultative committee for the police. The veteran officer was born to a Jewish family from England, raised in St. Catharines, Ont. where his parents are still active in the Niagara Jewish community, he reads Hebrew, he went on Birthright, he’s visited Auschwitz, and is a proud alumnus of the Chidon Hatanach, the National Bible Contest for Jewish students. Rinkoff, 44, says the Toronto police have had to manage over 340 protest rallies since Oct. 7, including last week’s targeting of the Mount Sinai Hospital, plus investigate an unprecedented number of hate crimes and graffiti, resulting in over 54 arrests and 117 charges to date. Rinkoff recently took The CJN Daily host Ellin Bessner on a tour of one of the two Toronto police command posts erected in Jewish areas and then shared what it has been like for him to be the Jewish point person during this fraught, historic time. What we talked about: Watch more about Inspector Paul Rinkoff and his advice for the Jewish community on safety in this webinar by UJA Federation Toronto’s Real Estate Division from Dec. 2023. He appears at 29:00 Watch an upcoming live seminar from Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw speaking to B’nai Brith on Feb. 29, 2024. Read more about Toronto Police Services hate crime statistics since Oct. 7 in The CJN. Credits: The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

As hospitals in Toronto announce they are beefing up their security procedures following Monday's anti-Israel protest outside Mount Sinai Hospital, on Feb. 14 police were called to the Thornhill constituency office of Canada's deputy Conservative party leader, Melissa Lantsman. Her staff arrived to work Wednesday to find anti-Israel posters plastering her office's front windows. After more than four months of anti-Israel protests popping up seemingly everywhere in major cities, calls are getting louder for police to start cracking down on intimidation and harassment of Canadian Jews. But Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, the executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, says banning these protests outright would be a dangerous thing—even though many Jews find them annoying, scary or even fuelled by hatred. It's an opinion she knows might be unpopular, but she joins The CJN Daily to explain her case. What we talked about Read more about the Canadian Civil Liberties Association position on protests in The CJN Read more about the vandalism at Melissa Landsman’s office in The CJN Learn why the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is challenging Quebec’s Bill 21, which bans religious symbols at work for public servants Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

Canada’s century-old Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto was founded in 1923 by Jewish doctors who couldn’t find work elsewhere due to antisemitic hiring policies of the day. Now, the hospital which treats patients of all faiths and employs staff from all walks of life, has become the latest flashpoint for anti-Israel protesters and their campaign of intimidation and targeting of Jewish-affiliated institutions across Canada–in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, and the Israeli government’s declaration of war in Gaza four months ago. It’s exactly the kind of thing that’s been keeping Deborah Lyons awake at night. Lyons is Canada’s Special Envoy to combat antisemitism and to promote Holocaust remembrance. She started her job in October, right after Oct. 7. Lyons says stopping the rampant antisemitism now facing the Jewish community in this country, will take a team effort: from Canadian leaders in business, academia, politics, other religions, and also of course law enforcement. She’s put them on notice that they must step up and do more. Lyons joins today’s episode of The CJN Daily for a report card on her first four months in office. What we talked about: Read about Ambassador Lyons’ appointment as Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism and for Holocaust Remembrance, in The CJN. Hear Ambassador Lyons’ debut interview on The CJN Daily from Nov. 2023. Read the Bloc Québecois’ Bill 373 to toughen Canada’s hate crimes laws outlawing antisemitic speech, to now include religious speech or opinions based on religious books Read more about the reaction to the Mount Sinai Hospital protests, in The CJN. Credits: The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

You may have heard the story of Adi Vital-Kaploun, the Canadian citizen who was murdered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. The 33-year-old scientist died in the safe room of her home, murdered while protecting her two sons: four-month-old Eshel and four-year-old Negev. The boys, and their father survived the massacre, as did Adi's father, Yaron Vital. But for days, no one knew if Adi was dead or taken hostage—until her body was found booby-trapped under a bed. It's a series of events that Yaron Vital and his wife, Jacqui—who is originally from Ottawa—have retold countless times, mostly on Zoom presentations with synagogues and Jewish groups. They have transformed their grief into a mission to share her story with the world. That includes many in-person meetings with well-wishers who want to help support Adi's family—despite little assistance from the Canadian government. On this episode of The CJN Daily, the Vitals recount their daughter's inspiring, horrifying final hours, and explain what the future looks like for Adi's bereaved husband and their two traumatized sons. What we talked about Learn more about Adi Vital-Kaploun, 33, in The CJN Make a tax-deductible donation to help Eshel and Negev Kaploun through AJA50 Plus and Canada Helps. (Note that donations must be accompanied by a message that the donation is for Adi’s children.) Learn more about the store belonging to Adi's grandfather, Irving Rivers, located in Ottawa's ByWard Market Credits Special thanks to Sheila Osterer and the AJA 50+ group in Ottawa for inviting us to attend the Vitals' presentation on Jan. 23, 2024, with permission to use the audio. The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

Two weeks ago, Canada joined the United States and other top Western donors in announcing they will suspend further funding to UNWRA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees. The move comes after intelligence from Israel and other sources proved the extent to which thousands of UNWRA employees and their family members have ties to Hamas—in some cases, even being full Hamas members and taking part directly in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, kidnapping and hiding hostages. Canadian lawyer Hillel Neuer runs the Geneva-based UN Watch, which helped reveal some of that damning evidence. He brought to light a 3,000-member UNWRA teachers’ chat group on Telegram that vocally supported the attack on Israel. UN Watch also exposed the identities of UNWRA teachers who proudly trumpet anti-Israel hate on their social media accounts. UNWRA has now launched its own official investigation, due at the end of April. But already there are calls to allow the discredited agency to be allowed to weed out the few “bad apples”, and for full funding to be restored. due to the humanitarian emergency and displacement of the vast majority of Gaza’s 2 million residents during Israel’s war with Hamas, now entering its fifth month. Hillel Neuer joins Ellin Bessner on _The CJN Daily _to explain why he thinks UNWRA should be disbanded permanently—but probably won’t be. What we talked about: Learn more about Canada announcing it will pause funding for UNWRA, and what new agencies will get the money instead, in The CJN Watch Hillel Neuer’s testimony (eight minutes) before the U.S. Congress on Jan. 30, on YouTube Read when the UN launched investigation in 2014 after missiles were discovered in UNRWA buildings in Gaza during war with Israel, in The CJN Credits: The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.